Cellphone use puts workers at greater risk

Monday

May 6, 2013 at 12:01 AM

The state Department of Transportation has not had any workers killed at construction sites in northeastern Pennsylvania in the past 12 years, and officials hope that trend continues as road work ramps up this spring and summer.

KYLE WIND

The state Department of Transportation has not had any workers killed at construction sites in northeastern Pennsylvania in the past 12 years, and officials hope that trend continues as road work ramps up this spring and summer.

In total, 10 workers were killed in PennDOT work zones in northeastern Pennsylvania since 1966, according to data provided by agency spokesman Michael Taluto.

The last time a road worker was killed in the region was in Luzerne County on May 14, 2001. Prior to that, the region saw two deaths in the 1990s, three in the 1980s, three in the 1970s and one in the 1960s.

In many ways, the trend is counterintuitive.

Ron Musgrave, a traffic- control leader for PennDOT, said the proliferation of cellphones has led to dangerous behavior from some drivers.

"Texting and cellphones is the biggest thing," Musgrave said. "I see it every day. People are headed for the barrels, then they wake up at the last minute."

There are also more construction sites today than there were in 2001, creating more opportunities for crashes.

James May, a PennDOT spokesman, estimated there are 100 projects under way across Pennsylvania this year compared to 50 the last time there was a death at a work site in northeastern Pennsylvania.

Last week's incident during which a PennDOT worker was briefly hospitalized after being struck on Interstate 81 in Scranton was a reminder of the danger to road workers.

David Krutulis, a PennDOT transportation construction inspector, said workers are most vulnerable during the earliest phases of construction, when cones are put in place to control traffic flow but before barriers are erected.

The inspector said it takes constant vigilance to stay safe, and that all it takes is a worker not paying attention for a moment for a tragedy to happen.

"We've all heard stories of other workers having to dive out of the way," Krutulis said. "Fortunately, I've never had to do that."

PennDOT officials and workers said the 12-year run without a death is a reflection of constant efforts to improve safety. They cited continuously updating maintenance protection traffic plans, learning from mistakes and getting help from state and local police agencies.

"One of the complaints we get a lot of times ... is, 'Why do you start the single lane pattern way, way up there?" May said. "In an area like this, where you have so many turns and hills and ups and downs, you have to have a certain amount of sight distance so you know what's happening. And you want to control the traffic ahead of time so that they're not trying to figure out where they're going and crossing 30 feet away from the workers."

State Trooper Connie Devens said that when PennDOT requests assistance, police typically deploy two troopers, one with lights flashing to slow people down going into a work zone, and a second farther into the work area to handle any backlog in traffic. Scranton Acting Police Chief Carl Graziano highlighted a similar procedure.

PennDOT workers said motorists do not necessarily change their behavior in construction sites, but they usually do when they see a police presence.

In 2011, 571 motorists had their licenses suspended for work-zone violations, according to PennDOT.